Lakers Rumors: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo expected to opt out

As we head into the NBA offseason, recent Lakers rumors have been about the status of two of their key rotation players.

The Los Angeles Lakers were able to win their 17th Title in the NBA Bubble, as they knocked off the Miami Heat. However, as one season ends, another begins. Even though they just won the title, there has been plenty of Lakers rumors already about the offseason.

According to a recent report from Shams Charania, both Rajon Rondo and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are expected to opt out of their contracts and test free agency.

This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise after the Lakers just won a title and both players were key contributors in the playoffs. KCP was the third leading scoring for the Lakers in the playoffs, as he averaged 10.7 points per game. He also shot the ball pretty effectively from beyond the arc at a solid 37.8 percent clip.

For Rondo, we did get to see him in his playoff form. Even though he wasn’t starting for the Lakers, he did a great job for them coming off the bench and still logged some major minutes.

In the playoffs, Rondo averaged 8.9 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game. There was a lot of concern as to what kind of the production the Lakers would get from Rondo in the playoffs, but he was able to turn it on when the team needed him too.

As two champions, KCP and Rondo should both receive a fair amount of interest in free agency. At this stage in his career, Rondo will likely want to continue to play for a contender. That certainly means a return to the Lakers could happen.

For KCP, he might look to lock up a longer-term deal. It will be interesting to see if the Lakers would be willing to invest in KCP long-term, as they have been keeping cap flexibility in recent years.

It will be interesting to see what the cap situation in the NBA will be for next season, as we might see players take short-term deals and hope for a better financial situation next season.